-0.44% on diesel and -0.11% on gasolinehere are the latest price drops on road fuels observed in France between September 13 and 20. A decrease of barely a cent, less marked than the week before (-1.43% on diesel, -1.7% on gasoline), but a drop is a drop, we would say the most knowledgeable economizers.
According to weekly figures provided by the government, a litre of diesel costs an average of €1.582 (compared to €1.589 the previous week) in France. Since the beginning of the summer (20 June), The price of a litre of diesel has dropped by 13 cents per litre, or 8.2% less, increasing only once, at the beginning of September, by just over a cent.
Gasoline is following the same curve, settling at the end of last week at 1.677€/litre on average (compared to 1.679€/l the previous week). Above all, since the beginning of July, gasoline has not increased once, down 13 cents also over the summer period (increase of 1.2 cents at the end of June), for a decrease of 7.3%.
This almost continuous decline is explained by a global decrease in demand for oil, explained by geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East but also by the slowdown in Chinese growth. On Europe 1, Olivier Gantois, spokesman for the French oil companies, explains that “Markets fear that Chinese growth will run out of steam”. “In this case, China will need less oil and this could cause surpluses on the world market, which would lower prices.”he explains.
In other words, there would be stocks to sell off, which would push prices down. And for 2025, the International Energy Agency has anticipated excess oil production, particularly by countries outside OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries).
While in recent years, a barrel of Brent oil (the benchmark in Europe, the Middle East and Africa) has been trading at between 75 and 85 dollars, the price has fallen below 70 dollars. A first since August 2021! However, Olivier Gantois does not believe in a continuous drop in road fuel prices, as he confided to our colleagues at La Voix du Nord: “We already know that OPEC will delay the increase in its production, to avoid surpluses, which should work in favor of price stability. There is no reason for the decline to continue significantly.”.
